5 Great Songs That My Kids Ruined

Sometimes it pains me when I think about how cool David Bowie is. At this point in my life, I've accepted that it's rather unlikely that Ziggy Stardust and I will become fast friends. But I'll always have his music.

That's why this video, "Cranky Baby Wants David Bowie," from CollegeHumor.com, sent chills down my spine. At first I was intrigued by he title, but 20 seconds into the toddler's whines and cries for Bowie, my heart began to ache for her parents.

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Damn, kids are powerful! This one seems to have stripped all of the fun out of "Changes" for her exhausted folks.

I know their pain well, as I've lost many great musical favorites to my own daughters' demands to play them over and over (and over) again. It's one thing to be tortured by the likes of Dan Zanes or The Wiggles, but to be made miserable by the incessant demands for one's own beloved music is not right.

You might be thinking, Just don't give in. If so, you clearly didn't watch the video. The fact that they are all hostage in the car is key. It's hard to drive when a kid is sending screams up in your face. There are times that I'll do anything to make it stop. Almost anything -- once I had to put the kibosh on my baby's obsession with "Give Me Shelter" (Rolling Stones' version). I didn't want her asking me about rape and murder.

But, there are plenty of other songs that, based on the demands of my kids, I've allowed to be played on a seemingly endless loop and, as a consequence, have been ruined for me.

Here are five of the most painful:

"Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

"ABC" by Jackson Five

Anything by They Might Be Giants, as now I can't tell the difference between their kids stuff and the music I enjoyed in college.

"Abominable Snowman in the Market"by Jonathan Richmond

"Baby Got Back" by Sir-Mix-A-Lot -- note: I probably shouldn't have gone here in the first place.

The moral here is that, although it's wonderful to share music with your kids, tread carefully. If you really love a song and think your toddler might too, you might want to wait until he emerges from the obsessive stage. Better to endure Elmo but keep Nirvana close to your heart.